INTEREST-FREE FAMILY LOANS remain outside the purview of the federal estate and gift tax statutes despite the recent efforts of the Internal Revenue Service to convince the judiciary that, in such loans, the fair market value of the foregone interest is a gift. This is an extrapolation of the Service\u27s efforts to find income to the recipient in other interest-free money situations. In light of the Service\u27s limited activity in dealing with tax consequences of the interest-free loans, the Seventh Circuit\u27s decision in Crown v. Commissioner\u27 will be an important reference for estate and tax planning. Doubtlessly, the Service will register its non-acquiescence to Crown as it did with Johnson v. United States.\u27 Consequently, the issue of interest-free family loans will be reviewed in the future by other circuits
